'Lemonade in Winter' by Emily Jenkins

Photo of Lemonade in Winter

Mary Harris Russell

'Lemonade in Winter: A Book About Two Kids Counting Money'

By Emily Jenkins, illustrated by G. Brian Karas

Schwartz & Wade, $16.99, ages 5-9

Everything's hilariously, perfectly off-kilter here, from the moment we see "lemonade" and "winter" together. An older sister (Pauline) and a younger brother (John-John) are determined to run a lemonade stand on a wintry day. Their delightfully rare parents let the children do all the work, from their piggy-bank-startup funding through shopping, making, advertising and figuring out their bottom line. Money means, after all, both numbers and what you can buy with it. Not since Lucy dispensed advice to Charlie Brown has a stand offered such a combo of info and glee.